#235---CLE @ BAL, 5/30/1997

 

I believe that with this post I have exhausted my supply of horrible 1997 Excel scoresheets (don’t worry, I have plenty of even worse 1997 Word scoresheets from the playoffs still sitting around).

The Indians jumped to a 4-0 lead on back-to-back first inning homers from David Justice and Manny Ramirez, but Baltimore chipped away and it was tied at five entering the seventh. The Orioles then jumped on Jose Mesa with a leadoff homer from Cal Ripken followed by a BJ Surhoff single and a Jeffrey Hammonds longball. The Indians got the tying run to the plate in the eighth against Jesse Orosco, but Armando Benitez fanned Manny Ramirez and retired Tony Fenandez to end the threat. In the ninth, with Randy Myers on to close it, consecutive errors by Cal Ripken opened the door. After Julio Franco struck out, Sandy Alomar pinch-hit for Jim Thome (it’s easy to forget how petrified Mike Hargrove was of Thome facing lefties at this point in his career). His single loaded the bases, but Myers fanned Matt Williams to end it.

 

#234---Perth v. Brisbane, 1/15/2021

 

This was the second ABL game I had the opportunity to watch in the winter of 2021, but I actually saw/scored it after #208 which was played on 1/20/2021, thanks to the odd programming choices of the random cable channel showing these games on tape delay. This game, played as the first of a split doubleheader at Adelaide, was billed as a pitcher’s duel between former big leaguer Travis Blackley and reigning ABL pitcher of the year Dylan Unsworth, and it didn’t disappoint. Blackely broke first, yielding a two-run homer in the fourth and dodging two errors in the fifth. He was yanked after walking two in the sixth, but despite another error Brisbane escaped with the score 2-0.

Unsworth, meanwhile, was sent out to try for the complete game (seven-inning doubleheader), but removed with run out and a runner at third after Dutton took two bases on a groundout. He struck out seven without a walk over 6 1/3, but former big leaguer Zac Reininger allowed the game tying hit. In the eighth, a double play resulted in Perth failing to cash in, while after two failed bunt attempts Fritsch dumped the game-winning single into right for Brisbane.

If I have to use a scoresheet with diamonds (and don’t worry, no one forced me), this is an example of what I prefer:

1) a very small diamond, since the space inside the diamond is wasted

2) “cheater” dots rather than a more complete outline of the diamond, so that if the batter does not reach base they leave as little clutter and superfluous ink as possible

Unfortunately, this approach takes the level of artistic talent needed from “trace a line” to “draw a line between two points”, and even that tiny increase in difficulty can result in some unfortunately-shaped lines when I am the one holding the pencil.

#233---PHI @ NYA, 8/5/2020

 

This was the first game of a doubleheader, so in 2020 that meant it was scheduled for seven innings. The Phillies used big innings in the fourth and sixth to take command, but the bullpen troubles that vexed them for the “whole” season reared their head in the seventh, eventually forcing nominal closer Hector Neris into the game with the tying run on deck. He got Miguel Andujar to fly to deep right-center on the first pitch.

One change to my scoring that is visible here is that I ceased circling the numbers of the lineup position that caused baserunners to advance (if it resulted in a runner scoring, it is still boxed). This reduces clutter on the scoresheet, although for the first week I needed to keep my eraser handy as it took some re-programming after 22 seasons of circling. The original idea behind circling was that it would distinguish the use of, say, “4” for the cleanup hitter from the use of “4” for the second baseman. However, it finally dawned on me after all this time that I would never have cause to refer just to “4” to describe what happened to a runner. A plain “4” could be a popup to second for the batter, but if a runner was putout at second by the second baseman, there would always have to be some kind of modifier, like “FC4” or “DP4” – the notation under my system would never just be “4”. So the use of the circle was unnecessary, although when I first started using this system in 1998 I did have some unmodified outs; I just saw an example where I used “74” for a batter-runner thrown out at second trying for a double. I would now mark that as “OS74”.

#232---CLE @ LAA, 9/9/2019

 

Shane Bieber pitched seven strong innings, retiring seventeen of the last eighteen he faced to get the win, but the most interesting about this game is three milestone homers for individual players on the extreme ends of the spectrum. Albert Pujols hit his 655th homer in the third inning, while both an Indian (Yu Chang) and an Angel (Jared Walsh) hit their first.